honors thesis osu

A Message from the Dean
Strategic Plan 2020-2025
Mission & Values
Giving to the Honors College
Operations and Services
Honors Link Magazine
Volunteer Leadership Groups
Current Students
Future Students
Alumni, Family & Friends
Faculty & Staff
News and Stories
30th Anniversary
Progress Requirements
Curriculum Requirements
Withdrawing From the HC
Stage Three
Thesis Archive
HC Research Opportunities
Current Student Scholarships
Experiential Learning Scholarship
Differential Tuition Scholarship
Differential Tuition and Emergency Grant
Spotlight on Courses
Course Evaluations
Non-HC Students can take Honors Courses
Suggest a Course
Student Involvement
Student Learning Centers
Learning Abroad
Internship and Career Connections
Graduation Central
Monday Message
HC Event App

Thesis & Research

Great minds think a lot..

As an Honors College student seeking an honors degree, your thesis is the chance for you to showcase your intellectual and creative talents. In many ways, your thesis will represent the culmination of your undergraduate experience at Oregon State University, drawing on all of the skills, knowledge, and insights you’ve acquired. Choose your own subject and think critically about social, creative, and scientific issues. Honors thesis topics range from scientific research to artistic creations to service projects, so there's room for you to explore the subject that excites you the most, even if it isn't in your major.

If all this sounds a bit overwhelming, don't worry. The HC provides you with a useful road map to guide you through each stage as you complete your thesis. Using Thesis Success in Stages (TheSIS) as your guide, you'll break the process down into smaller pieces with clear benchmarks to make your thesis journey much more manageable. These stages are called Stage 1: Plan , Stage 2: Explore & Build , Stage 3: Commit , and Stage 4: Compose & Complete .

Take comfort in knowing that you don't have to go it alone. It's OK to ask for help. In fact, we encourage it. Courses are available to help you at every stage of the process, and you'll be guided by a faculty team that's pulling for your success.

Stage 1: Plan

Complete within the first three terms of joining the hc.

Stage 1: Plan , the first stage, involves learning about the thesis requirement and mapping out personalized goals. This stage offers a framework for thinking about the thesis and possible paths to completion. Complete Stage 1 during your first year in the HC. If you are transferring into the HC, you should complete Stage 1 during your first term or as soon as possible.

Stage 2: Explore & Build

Complete as indicated on your thesis plan on file in the hc.

The second stage, Explore & Build, requires you to explore your thesis interests and begin your engagement with faculty, with the goal of finding a mentor or making significant strides toward finding your mentor.

Stage 3: Commit

In the third stage , you will choose a mentor and work with that mentor to select a topic, develop a research plan, and complete a formal thesis proposal.

Stage 4: Compose & Complete

The final stage supports you in the process of actually writing the thesis, including drafting and revising chapters, presenting your thesis research to an audience of non-experts, planning the thesis defense and submitting your approved thesis.

Main navigation

Research thesis and research distinction.

An undergraduate thesis is an official, academically-integrated undergraduate research project with a formal written outcome. Completing a thesis is permanently recognized on a student's diploma as graduation with "Research Distinction" or with "Honors Research Distinction."

The requirements for graduating with research distinction vary by college, but generally include submitting an application to complete a thesis at least a semester prior to graduation, enrolling in thesis course credit hours, submitting a written thesis manuscript and completing an oral examination or defense to a faculty panel. Students should discuss their interest in completing a research distinction project with their research advisor and academic advisor as early as possible.

Theses are permanently stored in the University Library's Knowledge Bank ; so, they are also considered to be a published material.

Research Thesis and Distinction by College/Program

Please contact your academic advisor if you are interested in completing a research thesis or distinction program.

Graduation and Research Distinction Guidelines
Research Distinction (Honors and Non-Honors)

Students should contact their academic advisor for information on graduating with Research Distinction or Honors Research Distinction.

Undergraduate Research & Distinction
Undergraduate Research Advising Packet
Honors and Research Distinction (including Non-Honors)
Guidelines for Research Distinction
Research Distinction
Honors Distinction and Thesis
Undergraduate Research, Independent Study, and Honors Program
Research Pathways
Research Distinction Guidelines
Honors Research and Thesis Requirements

Ohio State nav bar

The Ohio State University

BuckeyeLink
Find People
Search Ohio State

Undergraduate Research Theses and Honors Research Theses

Instructions for students | Instructions for Honors Program Directors

The Ohio State University develops and supports an environment that promotes the intellectual and personal development of high-ability undergraduate students. Undergraduate students submit their research theses and honors research theses to the Knowledge Bank. If you have questions or problems with the procedures below, please send a message to [email protected] .

Instructions for students:

MANDATORY: Login (Auto-Register) with the Knowledge Bank
MANDATORY: Fill out authorization form
MANDATORY: Convert thesis to PDF
Delay of Dissemination process , and policy and request form information
Submitting an item to the Knowledge Bank

Delay of Dissemination (embargo) policy and request form . (If you would like to delay dissemination of your thesis in the Knowledge Bank, you must request an embargo from the Honors and Scholars Center. Policy information and the request form can also be found at the Honors and Scholars Center ).

Whether or not you request a delay, you must complete steps 1-5 to electronically submit your thesis. You will have an opportunity in the submission process to alert the Libraries that your thesis PDF should not be made available in the Knowledge Bank immediately. Though the file(s) attached to an item record will be inaccessible while embargoed, the record itself will be publicly visible.

You can do steps 1 and 2 any time during the semester that you intend to submit your thesis to the Knowledge Bank.

1. Login to the Knowledge Bank to auto-register.

Go to: https://kb.osu.edu
Click on the "Login" dropdown.
Click on the "Login with Shibboleth" button.
Sign in with your OSU account (lastname.# and password)
OR if your OSU login is already in effect in your browser, you will be logged in automatically.
Once logged in, click on the Profile icon dropdown and select "MyKB" to be taken to your Submissions page.

NOTE: You will not be able to select a collection to submit to until you are authorized to submit to the appropriate collection (see step 2 below).

2. Fill out the web form below and click on [Submit] to inform the Knowledge Bank staff that you have registered. They will authorize you to submit your thesis to the appropriate collection. Knowledge Bank staff will send you an e-mail when you have been authorized. If you have not heard back from Knowledge Bank staff within two business days, please email [email protected] .

Once authorized, when you start a new submission after logging in you will see the name of your selected collection in the pop-up window dropdown. Before you are authorized this collection will not be available.

Note: This form will not automatically authorize you. The Knowledge Bank staff will receive your request via this form and they will authorize you.

3. Convert your thesis to PDF format. (Microsoft Word documents will not be accepted.)

Note: Please do not use spaces or special characters in your PDF filename. Spaces and special characters — such as [ , ] , ( , ) , ! , é , and ü — can prevent access to your thesis via the web once it is in the Knowledge Bank. Examples of properly named PDFs include: thesis.pdf, your_name_thesis.pdf, honors_thesis.pdf, HonorsThesis.pdf, myThesis_20080602.pdf. Also, please remember that the filename of your thesis will be visible to the general public.

4. Submit your thesis to the Knowledge Bank.

Go to https://kb.osu.edu
Click on "Login".
After logging in, hover over the plus sign at the top of the left-hand menu. Click "New" and select "Item" from the dropdown list.
In the new pop-up window, click on the name of the desired collection listed below the search box. Note: you will not be able to select a collection until you are authorized to submit ( step 2 above).
Follow the steps of the submission form.

NOTE: During the submission process, you will be asked whether or not you requested an embargo (or delayed dissemination) for your thesis and for how long. You must request an embargo through the Honors and Scholars Center. Policy information and the request form are available online from the Knowledge Bank or the Honors and Scholars Center .

Note: As a repository for digital assets, OSU's Knowledge Bank acts as a permanent archive. All items submitted remain as is at the time of submission, just as books once published remain in the form in which they were printed. PDF files once placed in the Knowledge Bank will not be modified.

Problems? Email us at [email protected] .

5. Your work is done but it may take the Knowledge Bank staff 1 to 2 business days to add your thesis to the Knowledge Bank. The system will send an email to you when it has been added informing you of the web address of your thesis. If you have requested an embargo, you will still receive an email with the link to your thesis item record, but the file(s) attached to your item will not be available until after the embargo period. Items in the Knowledge Bank are indexed by Google but it may take two weeks before you will be able to find it in Google.

Instructions for Honors Program Directors:

1. Near the beginning of every semester, send an email to your students with a link to the instructions above: http://go.osu.edu/kb-honors-instructions . (Near the beginning of every semester, you will receive an email from the Honors & Scholars Center with a link to this page of instructions. This should prompt you to forward the email to your students that will be submitting a thesis that semester.)

2. Subscribe to your collection to get an email alert when a student's thesis has been added to the Knowledge Bank. You only have to follow the procedures below once. If you continue to be the Honors Program Director for your college, you will automatically receive email alerts every semester. If you would like to be notified by email when a student's thesis has been added to the Knowledge Bank follow the procedures below:

Navigate to the desired collection home page and click the red bell icon at the top right.
In the pop-up window, select your preferred schedule for receiving email updates, then click "Submit." You should now be subscribed.
To view your current subscriptions, click on the Profile icon dropdown and select "Subscriptions."

If you ever step down from being a Honors Program Director and do not wish to receive the email alerts any longer, you may unsubscribe from your collection:

Click on the Profile icon dropdown and select "Subscriptions."
Find the collection you wish to unsubscribe from, and click the red trash can icon to delete it from your list.

Link to this page: http://go.osu.edu/kb-research-and-honors-theses-instructions

Ohio State nav bar

The Ohio State University

BuckeyeLink
Find People
Search Ohio State

Ohio State University Libraries
Research Guides

Dissertations & Theses

Osu theses & dissertations.

Getting Started
Search by OSU Department
Getting a scan of an OSU thesis or dissertation
Ohio Theses & Dissertations
Worldwide Theses & Dissertations

You can search the OSU Catalog for dissertations by:

Using the catalog's Advanced Search , you can limit to both online and print theses. See our Theses/Dissertations Mini-Catalog for a search pre-limited to online/print theses.

Alternatively, you can search for specific people or titles:

Author (Last Name, First Name) Example: Yost, Jeffrey Title Example: Dance in another dimension

See the Search by OSU Department sub-page for links to specific departments within the OSU Library Catalog.

More OSU Options

Search Proquest Dissertations & Theses for OSU dissertations. Most dissertations after 1954 are available full text.
Search The Knowledge Bank for undergraduate research or honors theses.
If it's only in print and you need it electronic (including non-OSU people):

Theses and dissertations not found in the OhioLINK ETD Center can be scanned and delivered as a free PDF. Any individual may email [email protected] directly to make a digitization request. Please include the following information: Author, Title, & Call Number (see above directions for searching the catalog). After scanning the material, we will email you a link to the PDF on our local server. PDFs will be stored on the server for 15 days.

<< Previous: Getting Started
Next: Search by OSU Department >>

Request an alternate format of this page | Accessibility | Privacy Policy

Print Page Login to LibApps

Ohio State navigation bar

BuckeyeLink
Search Ohio State

Honors Thesis Requirements (for honors students only)

Graduating with honors research distinction.

In order to graduate with honors research distinction, students must complete all 7 steps outlined below, plus:

They must be enrolled in the ASC Honors Program, which requires completion of the honors course work requirement.
They must graduate with a minimum 3.4 cumulative grade point average on at least 60 graded Ohio State semester hours.

The 7 Steps to Earn Honors Research Distinction:

1. At least two semesters before graduating (i.e., by the Spring semester of one’s junior year), the student finds a Political Science department faculty member to serve as the Project Advisor

The Faculty Project Advisor helps guide the research and the writing of the thesis. The faculty member must be tenure-track (holds the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full professor) and have an appointment in Political Science. We find that most successful thesis writers work with Faculty Project Advisors with whom they have a strong prior relationship. In most cases, students have taken a class from the professor they ask to serve as a project advisor, though this is not required. Ideally, the faculty advisor’s research interests overlap with the student’s research interests, and, if not, the faculty member will advise the student on other faculty members in the department who might be better suited to serve as the Project Advisor.

The most important first step is to talk to a faculty member as soon as possible if you are interested in exploring the possibility of writing an Honors Thesis. A full list of our faculty is available on our website.

2. The student files a formal application with the Honors College in 3180 Smith Lab.

Note : The student must complete the Honors Thesis Application and turn it in in person . It is solely the student’s responsibility to ensure that all paperwork is complete ahead of posted deadlines.

3. The Faculty Project Advisor notifies the department’s Honors Advisor that the student is eligible to enroll in Political Science 4999H.

The number of credit hours can be negotiated between the faculty advisor and the student. A minimum of four hours, however, generally crossing over two semesters, is required. The maximum number of hours is nine. Students need written permission to enroll in 4999H each semester , not just the first time.

4. The student completes the research and writes the thesis.

While there are exceptions, typically, the project takes place over the final summer prior to one’s senior year and the two semesters of the undergraduate career. It is often useful to see previous theses to gain a better understanding of departmental expectations. Recent theses are available through the OSU Knowledge Bank .

5. The student defends the thesis in a one-hour oral examination.

Once students have a Thesis Application on file with the Arts and Sciences Honors Office, they can proceed with the Thesis Oral Examination process.

The requirements for the oral defense committee for Honors Students are as follows:

There must be a minimum of three OSU faculty members.
There must be at least two tenured or tenure-track faculty members.
There must be at least two Arts and Sciences faculty members.
There must be at least one faculty member who does NOT have any appointment in the department of distinction.

6. The student submits the approved thesis to OSU's Knowledge Bank.

7. The student graduates with honors research distinction.

"Honors Research Distinction" is printed on the student's diploma and on the student's official undergraduate transcripts.

Undergraduate Research Office
ASC Undergraduate Research Scholarship
Denman Undergraduate Research Forum

Please Note:

While students must be in the Honors Program and complete the Honors Contract (and graduate with a 3.4 GPA and a 3.5 in major Poli Sci GPA) to graduate “with Honors Research Distinction,” you do NOT have to be in Honors to write a thesis. Non-Honors students can see guidelines for writing a thesis here . Students who successfully meet these requirements graduate with a "research distinction."

Main navigation

University honors program.

The University Honors Program promotes the intellectual and personal development of undergraduate students through an enriched academic experience and integration of curricular and co-curricular programming.

Take advantage of Honors status in 200+ majors across campus.
Choose from more than 350 sections of Honors classes, averaging fewer than 25 students each.
Pursue original research and write an Honors thesis under the guidance of a faculty member.
Graduate "with Honors" and/or "with Honors Research Distinction" on your diploma.
Opportunity to live in three designated Honors learning communities.
Receive university-level priority course scheduling to meet your Honors requirements.

The Ohio State University

BuckeyeLink
Find People
Search Ohio State

CFAES COVID-19 Resources: Safe and Healthy Buckeyes | COVID-19 Hub | CFAES Calendar

School of Environment and Natural Resources

Search form

Preparing your thesis.

You will work with your faculty advisor to determine the specific format of your honors thesis. Typically, you follow a format that is consistent with a major scientific journal within your field of study. Your thesis will be significantly different from your proposal, although some proposal content may be appropriate to duplicate in the thesis. Depending on the nature of your research project, your thesis could range in length from 20-100 pages. Your faculty advisor will help you determine the appropriate content and length of your thesis, as it applies to your research area. Expect to spend a significant amount of time drafting and editing your thesis before the final product is submitted! For examples of honors theses submitted in the past, visit the OSU Knowledge Bank.

honors thesis osu

IMAGES

VIDEO